TX POLITICS: PARTIES

Question 1

A communications director who works for the Republican National Committee would represent which semi-distinct group within the Republican Party?

Answer 1

the party organization

Question 2

Which of the following groups works within a party at the government level to set priorities and develop a legislative strategy?

Answer 2

party caucuses

Question 3

Which type of organization supports candidates running for office under its own name?

Answer 3

political parties

Question 4

What role do parties play in deciding which candidates will be nominated to represent the party?

Answer 4

They have very little direct control over nominations, though individual politicians and party leaders may endorse particular candidates.

Question 5

How might a political party leverage public debate in its favor?

Answer 5

by framing an issue in a way that is favorable to the party’s position

Question 6

How do political parties link state governments to national governments?

Answer 6

Parties often serve as a career network that allows candidates and political professionals to progress from state-level to national-level politics.

Question 7

Why should political parties ideally be “participatory vehicles”? Choose the BEST answer.

Answer 7

Having politically involved members is important for determining both the shape and leadership of a party.

Question 8

Which of the following is a requirement to be able to vote in the state of Texas?

Answer 8

You must be a citizen who is at least 18 years of age by Election Day.

Question 9

If you wished to become involved in party politics by running for a party nomination, which of the following elective offices would be the BEST place to start?

Answer 9

state representative from a smaller district

Question 10

state representative from a smaller district

Answer 10

Yes, several young candidates with little experience have fared well in Texas elections.

Question 11

How much power do party organizations generally have over candidates?

Answer 11

very little, as they do not exercise centralized control over nominations or campaign funding

Question 12

Which of the following connects district- and state-level party organizations to their members?

Answer 12

party precincts

Question 13

How does one become an election judge for a general election?

Answer 13

The county commissioner’s court appoints a presiding judge and an alternate judge.

Question 14

Which of the following statements BEST describes the nature of party system transformation?

Answer 14

It takes place slowly over multiple elections.

Question 15

A shift in the makeup and power of political parties, often marked by a critical election, is called what?

Answer 15

a political realignment

Question 16

The history of political parties can be thought of as which of the following?

Answer 16

a series of long, fairly stable periods that are interrupted by brief episodes of dramatic change

Question 17

Which of the following patterns is characteristic of the succession of party systems in Texas?

Answer 17

One party tends to dominate elections for long periods of time.

Question 18

When was the pre-party era in Texas?

Answer 18

1836-1845

Question 19

Which of the following describes classical liberalism?

Answer 19

a philosophy that places a high value on the liberty of individuals to exercise their freedoms, so long as their freedoms do not restrict the liberties of others

Question 20

Which of the following statements is true regarding Texas’s early years in the Union?

Answer 20

Texas was deeply divided regarding slavery.

Question 21

What political event led to the Democratic Party regaining control in Texas?

Answer 21

the Compromise of 1877

Question 22

How did the Democrats maintain their hold on power throughout Texas?

Answer 22

They used patronage systems in which urban bosses directed the voting choices of mostly immigrant blocs.

Question 23

What is one trend that occurs when one party is dominant in state or national politics?

Answer 23

Divisions within the dominant party tend to become more important than divisions between the parties.`

Question 24

What party posed the most significant challenge to the post-Reconstruction Democratic Party?

Answer 24

the Farmer’s Alliance

Question 25

Who benefitted the most from Jim Crow laws in Texas?

Answer 25

Democrats

Question 26

While the Democratic Party was dominant within Texas, the Republican Party dominated national politics. Which president brought the Democratic Party to national dominance?

Answer 26

FDR

Question 27

Where did the term “Yellow Dog Democrat” come from?

Answer 27

Democratic voters acquired this moniker when they vowed that they would vote for a yellow dog before voting for a Republican.

Question 28

What were the two major pieces of civil rights legislation signed into law under President Lyndon Johnson?

Answer 28

the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true regarding voting during the civil rights era?

Answer 29

For the first time, many Southern Democrats voted for non-Democratic Party candidates in the 1968 presidential election.

Question 30

Why was voter participation higher in the Democratic primaries than in the general elections during the 1950s?

Answer 30

Republicans didn’t stand a chance in the general elections.

Question 31

Apart from internal divisions in the Democratic Party, what contributed to the growth of the Republican Party in Texas?

Answer 31

the growth of Texas suburbs and the migration of people in from other states

Question 32

What does polarization in politics mean?

Answer 32

Two opposing or conflicting principles, tendencies, or points of view exist on a topic, with the majority of opinions being at extremes.

Question 33

What did Republicans do in 2003 to address the disparity between Republicans’ success in statewide races and their minority presence in the U.S. House of Representatives?

Answer 33

Governor Rick Perry called a special session of the legislature to draft redistricting legislation that appeared to give Republicans the chance to gain many more House seats.

Question 34

What are “Super-Republicans”?

Answer 34

Texas Republicans who have carried Republican values, such as opposition to high tax rates, to the extreme

Question 35

Which of the following policy ideas do Democrats in Texas support the MOST?

Answer 35

restoring funding to education and human services

Question 36

Who has largely been against the policy proposal to require large businesses to offer insurance or pay a fine?

Answer 36

Texas Republicans

Question 37

Which of the following third parties has made little to no headway in Texas in recent years?

Answer 37

Populist Party

Question 38

What are the political implications of recent demographic trends in Texas?

Answer 38

The source of Democratic voters is booming, while the primary source of Republican voters has remained unchanged.

Question 39

Which of the following parties enjoys the advantage of organizational strength in Texas?

Answer 39

the Republican Party

Question 40

What do observers agree that Texas Republicans need to do in order to draw more support from minority voters?

Answer 40

adapt their strategy to embrace immigration and racial diversity